Fysisk format label night in London

The 29th og October sees The Quietus hosting a night of bands featured on the roster of the Fysisk Format (which translates as Physical Format) label at The Old Blue Last in Shoreditch.

Topping the bill will be Årabrot, who released their latest, self-titled album in August. The Haugesund metal band will be joined by two punk legends Haust and Dark Times.

Wreaking havoc at The Old Blue Last

– We’ll be heading over to London with Årabrot, Haust and Dark Times to wreak havoc and raise the bar a bit, says Fysisk Format’s Kristian Kallevik. – Our bands have done many separate tours in the past, but it feels good to be part of a large herd and really make a statement. This gives the UK audience a better insight in the bonds between the bands and what’s happening on the Norwegian scene. It’ll also be great to hook up with our UK label partners in a more relaxed setting, adds Kallevik.

True to the company’s name, Fysisk Format has focused on music in physical formats and has a long-standing export history with bands such as Okkultokrati, blood Command and Obliteration in addition to the three acts featured on the London Label night. The business climate for physical sales might be tough these days, but Kallevik still sees opportunities in the UK market: – We collaborate with lots of independent record stores that really support the releases they like. Many of them are also good at stocking up on our back catalogue and manage to achieve steady and solid sales of older titles.

Pushing physical formats

Årabrot first recieved widespread recognition with the Steve Albini produced third album, The Brother Seed (2009). Following this album, Arabrot went into a creative blaze the following years, performing movie soundtracks, art space happenings and collaborations. They quietly built a reptuation among music fans in Europe as a daring and uncompromising live band. Today, Arabrot is widely regarded as one of Europe’s defining underground bands.

Haust’s Ride the Relapse” from 2008 was the first album the Fysisk Format label released, and with songs like “White Trash Extravaganza” and “Ugly Fucking Oslo” Haust became a focal point and defining reference for like-minded people in Oslo. The follow-up release “Powers of Horror” from 2010 is a more complex record, and with tracks like “Skate Rock” and “Anti-Reproductive“‘s sado-nazi-zombie-video, Haust grew internationally, and among other things toured with Rotten Sound and Trap Them.

Dark Times springs from the elusive Black Hole Crew (Haust, Okkultokrati and more), and has – with only a 7″ and a demo cassette – achieved a high standing in the Oslo Underground. The band has been hailed by NME and Brooklyn Vegan and is the first Norwegian band ever to be profiled in the American punk-rock bible Maximum Rocknroll. The band consists of guitarist/lead singer AK and drummer Rikke, who both have a history of working in student radio. Barytone guitarist Sebastian Rusten is also a notable illustrator, with artwork for several Okkultokrati-releases as well as Dark Times’ first 7″.

The Fysisk Format label night in London is supported through Music Norway’s promotional support programme.